Factors controlling the solubility of aerosol trace metals in the atmosphere and on mixing into seawater

Previous work has shown that the type and pH history of an aerosol governs trace metal solubility in rainwater. This study concentrates on the crustal elements Al, Fe and Mn and identifies additional processes which affect dissolution not only in the atmosphere but also on mixing into seawater. Aerosol dissolution experiments (at aerosol concentrations of about 30 mg 1^–1) show manganese exhibiting high solubility at the low pH values typical of clouds (54±2.5% at pH 2, with results expressed in mole percent units) with 85% of this increase occurring within 6 hours of acidification. The percentage dissolution decreases to 50% at pH values representative of rainwater (pH 5.5) and to 26±4% at pH 8, typical of seawater. No such dramatic solution phase removal occurs at pH 8 in the presence of inorganic anions (to a final solubility of 44±2%). Thus the extent of manganese dissolution depends strongly on whether aerosols are cycled through acidic environments and on subsequent inorganic complexation once rainwater mixes into sea. Aluminium shows highest dissolution (7.1±0.6%) at low pH with 78% of this increase occurring within 6 hours of acidification. Rapid solution phase removal occurs on increasing the pH to that representative of rainwater (to 0.9±0.4% with 87% of this decrease occurring within 15 min). As a consequence of acid cycling and aluminium's amphoteric nature, solubility is enhanced at seawater pH (2.3±0.3%) over that in rain. Iron shows a strong pH-solubility relationship with highest solubility at low pH (4.7±0.2%), 70% of this value being reached within 6 hours of acidification, and decreasing rapidly to 0.17% as pH is raised to 8. Addition of inorganic anions at pH 8 to simulate mixing into seawater causes a further decrease in solubility, perhaps due to anion induced colloid destabilisation. Photochemical reduction also effects solubility under low pH conditions with Fe(II) comprising 1% of the total iron in the Saharan Aerosol used and 8.4% in an Urban material at a pH of 2. This element shows rapid solution phase removal with increasing particulate load which is tentatively rationalised in terms of a simple Kd approach.     

The representation of diatom communities by fossil assemblages in a small acid lake

The representative quality of fossil diatom assemblages in the recent sediment of a lake is compared with its contemporary diatom flora. In April 1986 experimental liming of the catchment of a small acidified lake, Loch Fleet (Galloway, U.K.), produced immediate changes in water quality. Lakewater pH rose from a mean of approximately 4.5 to 6.5, and in the two year period following liming a consistently higher pH was maintained. The marked response of diatom species to changing water quality provided a means of tracing events from living communities to the fossil assemblages. Diatom periphyton and plankton were sampled during a 20 month period and archived material was used to characterise earlier diatom communities. A comparison is made between living diatom communities and diatom assemblages collected by sediment traps and from sediment cores taken during the same period.Following liming, the diatom communities were found to respond within days or weeks to the changes in water quality. There is an initial change from acidobiontic communities, dominated byTabellaria quadriseptata, to dominance by the acidophilous speciesEunotia incisa andPeronia fibula. However, in the epipsammic community the acidobiontic speciesTabellaria binalis fo.elliptica remains abundant after liming. Approximately one year after liming the abundances of species such asAchnanthes minutissima andBrachysira vitrea increase in the epilithon, epiphyton and epibryon, whilst in the epipsammonT. binalis fo.elliptica is replaced by smallEunotia spp. andAchnanthes altaica. During the latter part of 1987 and in 1988, despite a stable pH, fluctuating patterns of species abundances are seen in the epilithon, epiphyton and epibryon whilst the species composition of the epipsammon remains relatively stable. Spring blooms of the planktonic speciesSynedra acus andAsterionella formosa occur during 1988 and 1989 respectively.Sediment trapping, which began in April 1987, records shifts in species composition corresponding with those seen in the epilithon, epiphyton and epibryon and with the blooms of planktonic species. The signal from the smaller, and probably less easily transportable, epipsammic community is not so clearly discernible. Although the fundamental record of the sediment traps is one from living diatom communities, the appearance of taxa extinct during the post-liming period reflects a low, but significant level of sediment resuspension.In contrast to the rapid response of living communities and their record in sediment traps, sediment cores do not begin to reflect changes in diatom composition until about 14 months after the initial liming. The first appearance of circumneutral taxa in significant abundance occurs only approximately 17 months after liming. The delayed reaction of sediment assemblages cannot be attributed principally to a slow rate of transport from the littoral to the profundal zone. Time-averaging processes within the sediment appear to be the main cause of the lag in core response. In contrast, blooms of planktonic species are quickly reflected in the stratigraphy of cores, but indicate that a considerable degree of downward mixing occurs. Comparison of the time trajectories of whole species assemblages in living communities, sediment traps and core surface sediments shows that the direction of change is similar in all three, but that the magnitude of change is attenuated in sediment assemblages.     

松辽盆地海侵事件——松科1井钙质超微化石新证据

松辽盆地作为中国最大的陆相含油气盆地,是否发生过海水侵入一直存在争议,化石能为该科学问题提供直接解释。在松科1井嫩江组一、二段发现了少量的钙质超微化石,初步鉴定出Calculites obscurus,Calculites ovalis,Quadrum sp.,Micula sp.等属种。上述钙质超微化石广泛分布于晚白垩世海相地层中,通过与国际标准海相化石的对比,将嫩江组一段中、下部的时代限定为Turonian晚期—Maastrichtian期。松辽盆地嫩江组一、二段下部的钙质超微化石保存总体一般,有一定的多样性,具有海相钙质超微化石的特征。松科1井钙质超微化石的分布、古生态及其与有孔虫化石的对应关系表明,松辽盆地嫩江组一段中-下部、二段下部沉积期湖泊水域广阔,全球海平面较高,间歇性的海水侵入事件导致西北太平洋中的钙质超微浮游生物和有孔虫等海洋生物被带入松辽盆地。     

Review on Researches of Aragonite Saturation State in the Southern Ocean:A Key Parameter of Southern Ocean Acidification

The Southern Ocean is a strong sink for atmospheric CO₂, making it especially vulnerable to ocean acidification (OA). The aragonite saturation state (Ω_arg) of seawater has been used as an index for the estimation of OA, which plays a critical role in evaluating the living environment of marine calcified organisms. However, it is very difficult to perform the studies of OA and Ω_arg in the Southern Ocean due to its harsh climate. Therefore, in order to better understand the OA and its further influences, the advances of Ω_arg studies were summarized in the oceans surrounding the Antarctica. Significant spatial and temporal variations of surface seawater Ω_arg are demonstrated in the Southern Ocean. In general, the surface seawater Ω_arg shows a lower value in the off-shore areas than in the open oceans. And, Ω_arg also exhibits a strong seasonal cycle with a higher value in summer than in winter. The distributions of Ω_arg in vertical water column generally present a declining tendency from surface to bottom. In addition, the shoaling of Ω_arg horizon at high latitude could be attributed to the ventilation and upwelling of deep waters in the Southern Ocean. There are many factors that could impact the Ω_arg in the Southern Ocean, including sea ice melting, sea-air CO₂ exchange, biological activities and hydrological processes, etc. Finally, the future changes and key scientific problems of OA in the Southern Ocean are proposed.     

Species‐specific photosynthetic responses of symbiotic zoanthids to thermal stress and ocean acidification

Increasing sea‐surface temperatures and ocean acidification (OA) are impacting physiologic processes in a variety of marine organisms. Many sea anemones, corals and jellies in the phylum Cnidaria form endosymbiotic relationships with Symbiodinium spp. (phylum Dinoflagellata) supply the hosts with fixed carbon from photosynthesis. Much work has focused on the generally negative effects of rising temperature and OA on calcification in Symbiodinium‐coral symbioses, but has not directly measured symbiont photosynthesis in hospite or fixed carbon translocation from symbiont to host. Symbiodinium species or types vary in their environmental tolerance and photosynthetic capacity; therefore, primary production in symbiotic associations can vary with symbiont type. However, symbiont type has not been identified in a large portion of Symbiodinium?cnidarian studies. Future climate conditions and OA may favor non‐calcifying, soft‐bodied cnidarians, including zoanthids. Here we show that two zoanthid species, Palythoa sp. and Zoanthus sp., harboring different symbiont types (C1 and A4), had very different responses to increased temperature and increased partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂), or dissolved CO₂, and low pH. Thermal stress did not affect carbon fixation or fixed carbon translocation in the Zoanthus sp./A4 association, and high pCO₂/low pH increased carbon fixation. In contrast, both thermal stress and high pCO₂/low pH greatly inhibited carbon fixation in the Palythoa sp./C1 association. However, the combined treatment of high temperature and high pCO₂ increased carbon fixation relative to the treatment of high temperature alone. Our observations support the growing body of evidence that demonstrates that the response of symbiotic cnidarians to thermal stress and OA must be considered on a host‐specific and symbiont‐specific basis. In addition, we show that the effects of increased temperature and pCO₂ on photosynthesis may change when these two stressors are combined. Understanding how carbon fixation and translocation varies among different host?symbiont combinations is critical to predicting which Symbiodinium associations may persist in warm, acidified oceans.     

我国氨氮海水质量基准的探讨

我国现行的氨氮海水质量标准参照国外基准与标准制定,未考虑是否能够有效保护中国海洋物种,科学性欠缺。对我国海水氨氮质量基准进行研究,采用美国EPA推荐的物种敏感度排序(SSR)技术,结合美国海水氨氮水质基准数学模型,搜集利用我国15种海水水生生物的非离子氨毒性数据,根据非离子氨氮和总氨氮转换公式,得出水体在不同pH值、温度和盐度条件下的总氨氮水质基准在pH为7.0~9.0、温度为0~30℃的范围内,盐度为10时,基准最大浓度(CMC)和基准连续浓度(CCC)的范围分别为0.089~57.141 mg/L与0.007~4.365 mg/L;盐度为20时,CMC和CCC的范围分别为0.092~61.152 mg/L与0.007~4.671 mg/L;盐度为30时,CMC和CCC的范围分别为0.095~65.446 mg/L与0.007~4.999 mg/L;3个环境因子,对CCC和CMC的影响程度由大到小依次为:pH、温度、盐度。相对于美国,我国急性基准的取值区间收缩了5倍,慢性基准的取值区间收缩了10倍。研究结果认为,现行的非离子氨数值应修正为0.007 mg/L才能有效保护我国海洋生物,同时建议使用总氨氮的基准来管理海水中氨氮变化。为修订我国氨氮海水质量标准提供了科学依据。     

大洋桥石藻Gephyrocapsa oceanica对海水酸化与营养盐胁迫的复合响应

本文选取了大洋桥石藻(Gephyrocapsa oceanica)作为实验对象,通过CO₂加富实验模拟海水酸化环境,分析了氮充足和氮相对不足条件下海洋颗石藻对海水酸化的生理响应。结果发现在两种营养盐状态下,CO₂加富均能一定程度促进大洋桥石藻种群增长与Chl a浓度的增加。对比两种营养盐状态,氮相对不足条件下的大洋桥石藻细胞密度和叶绿素含量均有最显著的提高,表明低营养盐浓度和低的氮磷比可能更有利于大洋桥石藻的生长繁殖。电镜观测结果显示酸化对大洋桥石藻的钙化作用具有显著的负影响,并且在氮相对不足条件下,大洋桥石藻的细胞个体变小及比表面积升高。研究结果表明在未来寡营养的大洋上层水体,大气CO₂浓度升高会对大洋桥石藻的生理功能产生负面影响,但可能刺激大洋桥石藻的生长。     

中华哲水蚤抗氧化系统对海水酸化的响应

海洋浮游动物可以对因二氧化碳浓度升高导致的海水酸化做出敏感的响应,然而关于海水酸化对其生理机能的研究却较少。因此,我们研究了暴露于不同二氧化碳浓度（0.08,0.20,0.50 and 1.00%）的酸化条件下中华哲水蚤主要抗氧化酶以及2种解毒酶的活性变化情况。结果表明,暴露于酸化海水中的中华哲水蚤的GPx酶活性显著高于对照组,然而,其它抗氧化组分,包括GST、SOD活性,GSH水平和GSH/GSSG比值均被显著抑制。中华哲水蚤的ATPase活性被海水酸化显著刺激,而AchE活性却显著被抑制。此外,主成分分析结果表明,各指标变化的75.93%可以用第一和第二主成分解释。因二氧化碳浓度升高导致的海水酸化可以通过影响桡足类体内一些酶类的活性来影响其新陈代谢及存活。在未来的研究工作中,需要对海水酸化和其它环境因素的协同作用对桡足类的影响作进一步研究。     

福建兴化湾中部表层海水及沉积物中重金属含量特征与生态风险评价

分析研究了兴化湾中部表层海水Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Hg、As的含量发现,表层海水中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Hg、As含量均符合海水水质一类标准,对表层沉积物中Cu、Pb、Hg、Cr、Cd、As等6种重金属含量分析表明,6种重金属含量均符合海洋沉积物质量一类标准.表层海水中重金属与环境因子相关性分析表明,6种重金属与环境的相关性在不同季节中存在差异;而表层沉积物中重金属与环境因子的分析表明,重金属具有相近的来源,有机质对沉积物中重金属的含量分布具有重要影响.主成分分析结果表明,兴化湾中部表层沉积物7种重金属主要来源为有机质的降解、沉积环境本身及工业排污的影响,其贡献率分别为59.48%、15.30%、10.98%,3个主成分的贡献率合计达到85.76%.潜在生态危害指数法评价结果表明,Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Hg、As均属轻微生态危害.